Antibody Discovery Advances Universal Flu Vaccine Goal

"By sifting through the blood of people who had been
immunized with flu vaccines, Goudsmit and his colleagues several
years ago discovered an antibody that bound to one such vulnerable
structure. In mice, an injection of the antibody, CR6261, could
prevent or cure an otherwise-lethal infection by about half of flu
viruses, including H1 viruses such as H1N1, strains of which caused
deadly global pandemics in 1918 and 2009.

"The Crucell researchers approached Wilson, whose structural
biology lab has world-class expertise at characterizing antibodies
and their viral targets. Ekiert, Wilson, and their colleagues soon
determined the three-dimensional molecular structure of CR6261 and
its binding site on HA, as they reported in Science in 2009. That
binding site, or "epitope," turned out to be on HA's lower,
less-accessible stalk portion. The binding of CR6261 to that region
apparently interferes with flu viruses' ability to deliver their
genetic material into host cells and start a new infection. That
antibody is about to begin tests in human volunteers.
"